Steering of roaming based on device type in wireless networks

ABSTRACT

Steering logic from a home network may allow a subscriber to roam toward a preferred foreign network while the subscriber is roaming from the home network to the foreign network. The steering logic may be built around the capability of the device or its information in various registers or other information that indicates which networks are preferred for the device. This logic may be part of a roaming agreement that is negotiated between a home MNO and foreign MNOs. In this manner, IoT devices may be steered to a specific network or first foreign network provider, voice-over-long-term-evolution (VoLTE) devices may be steered to a second foreign network partner, and non-VoLTE devices may be steered to a third foreign network partner. In this way, a network operator may preserve their network bandwidth for devices that require or may use particular network technologies while others do not.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/543,275, filed Aug. 16, 2019, entitled “STEERINGOF ROAMING BASED ON DEVICE TYPE IN WIRELESS NETWORKS,” the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The background description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting the context of the disclosure. The work of thepresently named inventors, to the extent it is described in thisbackground section, as well as aspects of the description that may nototherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neitherexpressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the presentdisclosure.

Steering of roaming describes a process for managing connectivity to amobile network for electronic devices that are not subscribers of thenetwork. This process allows mobile network operators to decide whichother network (“foreign network”) their subscribers will use whenroaming from their subscribed network (“home network”) to a foreignnetwork is maintained by another mobile operator. Steering allowsoperators to manage their network to optimize bandwidth for theirsubscribers and enter agreements with other operators that areadvantageous to all parties. Steering is typically accomplished via twomethods: network based and subscriber identification module (SIM) based.These approaches may be used separately or together. In a network-basedapproach, a foreign network asks permission from a home network for thehome network subscriber to join the foreign network while roaming. Asteering system maintained by the home network operator will then decideto reject or accept the request to join the network. Network-basedsteering is dynamic and foreign network targets may change rapidly.Accuracy for selecting a desired network becomes difficult when thereare three or more operator partners in the same area. In SIM-basedsteering, a preferred network list is contained within the SIM of thesubscriber's mobile device. The list is typically maintained by anover-the-air (OTA) messaging system. This maintenance may suffer fromsignificant logistic issues. Further, differences between handsets maymake it difficult for a single system to service all available handsettypes. These challenges are only amplified when considering theexplosion of internet-of-things (IoT) devices within the marketplace.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure inorder to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of thedisclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview. It is notintended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure or todelineate its scope. The following summary merely presents some conceptsin a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed descriptionprovided below.

In an embodiment, a mobile electronic device may operate in geographicareas covered by more than one network operating in different frequencybands. A home network may be maintained by the subscriber's operator or“home network operator” while a foreign network may be maintained by adifferent operator or “foreign network operator.” When the subscriber isroaming from the home network to the foreign network, steering logicfrom the home network may allow roaming toward a preferred foreignnetwork. The steering logic may be built around the capability of thedevice or its information in the “Equipment Identity Register” (EIR).The EIR may include a database that contains a record of the all theelectronic devices and mobile stations (MS) that are allowed in anetwork as well as a database of all equipment that is banned, e.g.because it is lost or stolen. The MS may include mobile telephoneequipment and a corresponding Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). In thismanner, IoT devices may be steered to a specific network or firstforeign network provider, voice-over-long-term-evolution (VoLTE) devicesmay be steered to a second foreign network partner, and non-VoLTEdevices may be steered to a third foreign network partner. In this way,a network operator may optimize their roaming agreements based on thedevice type and capability of the devices.

A system may steer an electronic device to a foreign network duringroaming based on capabilities of the electronic device and a roamingagreement between the home MNO and the foreign MNO. The home networkbase station may include a home network processor and a home networkmemory storing instructions for execution by the home network processor,the instructions may include a home coverage area. The system may alsoinclude a mobile management entity (MME) communicatively connected tothe home network base station and include further instructions forexecution by the home network processor. The instructions may storeroaming agreement rules for the electronic device. The roaming agreementrules may indicate a network capability for the electronic device tojoin either a first foreign network base station or a second foreignnetwork base station. The electronic device is capable of joining boththe first and second foreign network base stations. The instructions mayalso receive a first request from the first foreign network base stationand a second request from the second foreign network base station forthe electronic device. The electronic device is outside the homecoverage area but within a first foreign coverage area and a secondforeign coverage area. The instructions may then send data to the firstforeign network base station in response to the first request and to thesecond foreign network base station in response to the second request.The data may indicate a network capability of the electronic device. Oneof the first foreign network base station or the second foreign networkbase station may issue credentials to the electronic device for joiningthe first foreign network base station or the second foreign networkbase station, respectively, based on the network capability of theelectronic device and the roaming agreement rules.

A computer-implemented method may also steer an electronic device to aforeign network during roaming based on capabilities of the electronicdevice and a roaming agreement between the home MNO and the foreign MNO.The method may store, using a processor of a home network base station,roaming agreement rules for the electronic device. The roaming agreementrules may indicate a network capability for the electronic device tojoin either a first foreign network base station or a second foreignnetwork base station. The electronic device is capable of joining boththe first and second foreign network base stations. The method may thenreceive a first request from the first foreign network base station anda second request from the second foreign network base station for theelectronic device. The electronic device is outside the home coveragearea but within a first foreign coverage area and a second foreigncoverage area. Also, the method may send data to the first foreignnetwork base station in response to the first request and to the secondforeign network base station in response to the second request. The datamay indicate a network capability of the electronic device. One of thefirst foreign network base station or the second foreign network basestation may issue credentials to the electronic device for joining thefirst foreign network base station or the second foreign network basestation, respectively, based on the network capability of the electronicdevice and the roaming agreement rules.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures depict a preferred embodiment for purposes of illustrationonly. One skilled in the art may readily recognize from the followingdiscussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methodsillustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principlesdescribed herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system for steering an electronic deviceto a foreign network during roaming in accordance with the currentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary base station in accordancewith the current disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an electronic device in accordance with thecurrent disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a flow chart for a method for steering anelectronic device to a foreign network during roaming in accordance withthe current disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Mobile electronic devices operate in geographic areas covered by morethan one network operating in different frequency bands. Each electronicdevice may be owned by a subscriber who pays a fee for access to one ormore networks. A home network may be maintained by the subscriber'soperator or “home network operator” while a foreign network may bemaintained by a different operator or “foreign network operator.”

Subscribers may “roam” from a home network to a foreign network as thesubscriber's electronic device moves out of range of the home networkand into the range of a foreign network. When the subscriber is roamingfrom the home network to the foreign network, steering logic may allowroaming toward a preferred foreign network. The steering logic may bebuilt around the capability of the electronic device as indicated in oneor more registers or databases maintained by the home network operator.In some embodiments, electronic device capability data may be maintainedby the home network operator in an “Equipment Identity Register” (EIR).The EIR may include a database that contains a record of the all theelectronic devices 102 and mobile stations (MS) that are allowed in thehome network as well as a database of all equipment that is banned, e.g.because it is lost or stolen, and device capability data. For example,via the MS, the EIR may include mobile telephone equipment and acorresponding Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). In this manner,particular electronic devices such as mobile phones or IoT devices maybe steered to a specific foreign network operator,voice-over-long-term-evolution (VoLTE) devices may be steered to asecond foreign network operator, and non-VoLTE devices may be steered toa third foreign network operator. In this way, a network operator mayoptimize the subscriber experience while reserving bandwidth at eachforeign network for electronic devices with capabilities that match theforeign network.

In sum, the present application describes a technical solution to thetechnical problem of preserving bandwidth of foreign networks duringelectronic device roaming from a home network to a foreign network. Thepresent application solves this technical problem by modifying theoperation of mobile telecommunications systems generally and the attachprocedure in particular to steer subscriber electronic devices to accessonly those foreign networks meeting particular capabilities of thedevice in accordance with rules set forth by roaming agreements betweenthe MNOs.

The present application describes embodiments including various elementsthat are present in a mobile telecommunications network such as modules,blocks, functions, data structures, etc. These elements are not anexhaustive collection of all elements needed to perform the functions ofa mobile telecommunications network (i.e., an attach procedure duringelectronic device roaming) or the disclosed embodiments. Indeed, theelements associated with the systems and methods described in thisapplication are only some of the possible elements that are needed toimplement the embodiments. Some embodiments may include more or fewerelements than those that are described with the embodiments, as known bya person having ordinary skill in the art of mobile telecommunicationssystems.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 supporting operation of an electronicdevice 102 operating in a dual band mobile communication system withcoverage areas as described herein. The electronic device 102 may be anyelectronic device that is capable of sending and/or receiving a radiosignal for communicating digital information from the electronic deviceand to another electronic device via the system 100. In someembodiments, the electronic device 102 includes a cellular telephone, asmartphone, a smart watch, an Internet of Things device, a computingdevice, etc.

A “home network” base station 104 may be maintained by a mobile networkoperator (MNO) corresponding to the electronic device 102. The homenetwork base station 104 may include a memory storingprocessor-executable instructions and data and a processor to facilitatethe MNO maintaining the network. For example, the home network memorymay include data to define a home coverage area 106 having a centerpoint X1, Y1 and having a first radius 108. A first foreign network basestation 110 may also include a memory storing processor-executableinstructions and data as well as a processor for executing theinstructions. The data and/or instructions for the first foreign networkbase station 110 may define a first foreign coverage area 112 having acenter point X2, Y2 and radius 114. The first foreign network basestation 110 may also have one or more radios supporting communicationwith the electronic device 102. A second foreign network base station116 may also include a memory storing processor-executable instructionsand data as well as a processor for executing the instructions. The dataand/or instructions for the second foreign network base station 116 mayindicate a second foreign coverage area 118 generally defined by acenter point X3, Y3 and radius 115. The second foreign network basestation 116 may also have one or more radios supporting communicationwith the electronic device 102. The base stations 104, 110, 116 mayinclude one or more radios operating at different frequency bandssupporting communication with the electronic device 102 as well as oneor more processors and memories storing processor-executableinstructions for implementing the various modules, blocks, functions,data structures, etc., as herein described.

Even though coverage areas of any radio system may vary due to terrainand other conditions, in various embodiments, the radio(s) of the homenetwork base station 104 may operate with different characteristics thanthe first foreign network base station 110 and/or the second foreignnetwork base station 116. For example, the home network base station 104may operate at a lower power and/or may have a limited coverage areacompared to the foreign network base stations 110, 116 or may supportdifferent types of mobile technologies (e.g., GSM, IS-95, UMTS,CDMA2000, LTE, 5G, VoLTE vs. 2G or 3G non-VoLTE standards, narrowbandvs. broadband, etc.) that correspond to capabilities of the electronicdevice 102.

The electronic device 102 may be subscribed to a mobile network operator(MNO) that maintains the home network base station 104. A subscriber maybe an entity who is party to a contract with the MNO for access topublic telecommunications services. In addition to different networkstandards and capabilities, each of the home network base station 104,the first foreign network base station 110, and the second foreignnetwork base station 116 may be maintained by different MNOs. While FIG.1 only shows three base stations 104, 110, and 116 each having adifferent MNO, the embodiments described herein apply equally to systemshaving different numbers of base stations and corresponding MNOs.

The electronic device is able to maintain connectivity beyond thecoverage area 106 of the home network base station 104 shown in FIG. 1despite only the home network base station 104 being maintained by ahome network MNO having a contract for telecommunications services witha subscriber corresponding to the electronic device 102. For example,the electronic device 102 may move out of range of the home coveragearea 106 and into range of the first and/or second foreign coverage area112, 118. A roaming module 120, 120A, 1206 for the home network basestation 130, the first foreign network base station 130A, and/or thesecond foreign base station 1306 may include processor-executableinstructions that define rules that allow the electronic device 102 tomaintain optimal network connectivity while also preserving bandwidth ofthe various networks by ensuring that the device 102 only connects tonetwork matching the capabilities of the device 102.

Each MNO maintains a Mobile Management Entity (MME) 130, 130A, 1306 forthe respective base station 104, 110, 116, respectively, including aHome Location Register (HLR) 122, 122A, 1226 for their base stations104, 110, 116. The HLR is a database for the MNO in which informationfrom all mobile subscribers is stored. The HLR contains informationabout the subscribers identity, telephone number, the associatedservices for the number or account, and general information about thelocation of the subscriber. The exact location of the subscriber is keptin a Visitor Location Register (VLR), as described below. The MME is thekey control node for the system 100. Each MME includes instructions foridle mode paging and tagging procedure including retransmissions for theelectronic device 102. The MMEs also include instructions foractivation/deactivation processes and also instructions for choosing thegateway and base station for an electronic device 102 at the initialattach and at the time of intra-LTE handover involving Core Network (CN)node relocation. The MME also includes instructions for authenticatingthe user by interacting with the respective base stations 104, 110, and116.

The subscriber information is created by the MNO in the HLR at the timeof purchase of subscription contract by a subscriber. Each MNO alsomaintains a visitor location register (VLR) 124, 124A, 1246. The VLR isa database that contains temporary information about a roaming orotherwise temporary subscriber that does not have a contract forservices with the MNO. It is used to service the visiting or roamingsubscribers. When the electronic device 102 moves from one coverage areato another (e.g., 106 to 112 and/or 118), a processor of the electronicdevice 102 may execute processor-executable instructions stored in amemory of the device to perform an attach procedure with the basestation 110, 116. The electronic device 102 and the home network MME 130may each include a processor in communication with a memory storinginstructions to implement an attach procedure for steering of roamingfor the electronic device 102. In some embodiments, the memory of theelectronic device 102 may include processor-executable instructions toinitiate an attach procedure by sending an attach request to basestations that are within communication range (e.g., base stations 110,116). The first foreign base station 110 and the second foreign basestation 116 may include processor-executable instructions to analyze theattach request and derive information about the electronic device 102from parameters included in the attach request that is received from theelectronic device 102. For example, the first foreign network MME 130Aand the second foreign network MME 1306 may include processor-executableinstructions to derive a device type, an address for computing devicesassociated with the home network MNO (e.g., the home network MME 130,base station 104, etc.), and also to send an identification request tothe home network MME 130 from the attach request. The first foreignnetwork MME 130A and the second foreign network MME 1306 may alsoinclude processor-executable instructions to send other requests to thecomponents of the system 100 (e.g., the electronic device 102, the homenetwork base station, etc.) if the electronic device 102 is unknown toone or more of the MMEs 130, 130A, 1306 (i.e., the HLR or VLR of thefirst or second foreign network MME does not include an internationalmobile subscriber identity (IMSI) and/or international mobile equipmentidentity (IMEI) for the electronic device 102). In some embodiments,requests between the components of the system to complete an attachprocedure may include an attach request, an identification request, anidentity request, an update location request, and a modify bearerrequest. The electronic device 102 may also include processor-executableinstructions to send an identity response (e.g., an international mobilesubscriber identity (IMSI) and/or international mobile equipmentidentity (IMEI)) to the MMEs 130A, 1306. In some embodiments, theelectronic device 102 may include processor-executable instructions tosend the identity response to the foreign MMEs 130A, 1306 in response tothe identity request from the MME to the electronic device 102.

Each of the foreign network MMEs 130A, 1306 may also includeprocessor-executable instructions to send an update location request(ULR) to the home network MME 130. The home network MME 130 may includeprocessor-executable instructions to send data to allow the foreignnetwork MMEs to identify capabilities of the electronic device 102 thatis attempting to attach to the respective networks. In some embodiments,the home network MME 130 may share subscriber data with the foreignnetwork MMEs 130A, 1306 including IMSI and other data that may identifyand/or allow the foreign network MMEs 130A, 1306 to identify a homenetwork operator and capabilities of the electronic device 102 uponexecution of further processor-executable instructions.

The foreign network MMEs 130A, 1306 may also includeprocessor-executable instructions to determine the capabilities of theelectronic device 102 using the received identity response. Each networkbase station 104, 110, 116 may include processor-executable instructionsfor identifying capabilities for a roaming electronic device 102 and asubscriber for the electronic device. In some embodiments, the MMEs 130Aand 1306 may include processor-executable instructions to identify asubscriber network for the electronic device 102 based on the IMSI andto identify capabilities of the electronic device 102 based on the IMEI.For example, the IMSI may indicate the first foreign network MNO as thesubscriber network. In some embodiments, the foreign MMEs 130A and 1306may include further processor-executable instructions to access acorresponding roaming module 120A and 1206 to identify rules forelectronic devices 102 having the same MNO to join the foreign network.Additionally, the IMEI may indicate capabilities of the electronicdevice 102 that, in comparison to rules defined by the roaming modules(i.e., 120A, 120B), may allow the MMEs to determine whether theelectronic device is able to attach to the first foreign network or thesecond foreign network or restrictions for the electronic device 102 tojoin the network. In further embodiments, the MMEs 130, 130A, 1306 mayinclude processor-executable instructions to check the received IMEIand/or IMSI against the equipment identity register (EIR) to determinewhether the electronic device 102 is able to attach to the first foreignnetwork or the second foreign network and, if so, issue credentials tothe electronic device 102 to join the network. Credentials may includevarious methods to attach to different types of networks. For example,in some embodiments, the credentials include an authenticationprocedure, an update location procedure (e.g., update general packetradio service (GPRS) location procedure, etc.), location, subscriberdata, etc.

For example, the processor-executable instructions may identify theelectronic device 102 that is roaming away from its home network as a 2Gor 3G device, as an IoT device, or as a VoLTE device.Processor-executable instructions may use rules of the roaming modules120, 120A, 1206 to steer the electronic device 102 to the foreign basestation 110, 116 that includes network capabilities that match a roamingagreement between the home network MNO and one or more of the foreignnetwork MNOs. Also, if the electronic device 102 is an IoT device andthe first foreign network roaming module 120A indicates an agreementbetween the home network MNO and the first foreign network MNO to allowIoT devices to join the first foreign network base station 110, whilethe second foreign network roaming module 1206 does not indicate such anagreement, then the system 100 may include further processor-executableinstructions to steer the device 102 to the first foreign network byexecuting instructions for issuing credentials to the IoT device.Likewise, if the electronic device 102 is only 3G capable and the firstforeign network roaming module 120A indicates an agreement between thehome network MNO and the first foreign network MNO to not allow a3G-only device to join a VoLTE-capable first foreign network basestation 110, then the system 100 may include furtherprocessor-executable instructions to steer the device 102 to anotherfirst foreign network. In this manner, the first foreign network basestation 110 and the second foreign network base station 116 may includeinstructions to preserve bandwidth for their networks and manage roamingmore effectively.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a base station 110 inaccordance with the current disclosure. The base station 110 may includea processor 230 that is in communication with a memory 232. The memory232 may include an operating system and utilities 234 used to manageoperations of the base station including booting, memory management,communications, error handling, software updates, etc. The memory 232may also store processor-executable instructions 236 and data 244.

The base station 110 may have a radio 250 operating at a frequency bandthat provides for a coverage area 112 (FIG. 1) larger than that ofanother frequency band in use by the home network base station 104. Forexample, the base station 110 may operate in a frequency band in the 700MHz frequency range with a coverage radius 114 of as much as 7kilometers. In many prior art systems, wide area coverage was providedby an overlapping network of similar band radios, operating at up to 2.5GHz, but having similar coverage areas. 4G LTE is such an example. Insuch systems, the electronic device 102 may tell one base station whenit is getting a stronger signal from another base station so that ahandoff between base stations can be executed.

However, in the new 5G (fifth generation cellular) standard, a mixedsystem of low band (e.g., 700 MHz base stations) may be intermixed withmillimeter wave radios operating in frequency bands around 50 GHz. Theseso called NR (new radio) radios may have a coverage radius of 500 metersor less depending on terrain and other obstructions. Unlike previoussystems, the 5G implementation mixes these bands with significantlydifferent coverage areas. This mismatch in coverage areas may cause anelectronic device 102 operating these disparate bands to have areduction in battery life simply because the electronic device 102 mayneed to constantly activate its NR radio in search of a signal eventhough it may be nowhere near an NR coverage area 106, 112, 118. Byactively managing which networks specific electronic devices may joinwhile roaming, the device-type steering embodiments described herein mayuse battery life as well as network capabilities of the device to reduceNR radio use and, thereby, extend battery life. For example, in someembodiments, a 5G-capable electronic device may be steered to a 3G or 4Gforeign network when battery life or charge of the electronic device isbelow a threshold. In further embodiments, steering toward a networkwith lower capabilities than the device may occur when more than onenetwork is available during roaming.

The base station 110 may also include a network interface 252 used forrouting traffic from land-based switch gear (not depicted). The networkinterface 252 may also communicate with an external data source 254.

The executable instructions 236 may include various modules or routinesthat are used for device-type based steering as described herein. Forexample, in an embodiment, the memory 232 may include a roaming module238, a home location register 240, a visitor location register 242, amobile management entity 243. The data 244 may include coveragecoordinates or descriptors, capabilities (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G,narrow band, etc.) of the coverage areas of the base stations. The data244 may also include coverage coordinates for other base stations (notdepicted) having small coverage areas compared to that of the foreignnetwork base stations 110, 116.

An embodiment of an electronic device 102 may be illustrated in FIG. 3.The electronic device 102 may be a cellular telephone, a tablet, alaptop, IoT device, etc. In other cases, the electronic device 102 maybe any of a number of items that increasingly rely on networkconnectivity, such as a vehicle or other device. The electronic device102 may include a processor 360 and memory 362 including an operatingsystem and utilities 364, executable code 366 that may include bothnative and downloaded applications, and data memory 368. The data memory368 may include coverage information for small coverage area frequencybands and specific device capabilities, such as coordinates or adescriptor as described above.

The electronic device 102 may also include a user interface 370 thatitself may incorporate a display 372 and input device 374 such as akeyboard or touchscreen. The user interface 370 may be in communicationwith another module that includes processor-executable instructions toprovide information to a user regarding the availability and/or activityon available frequency bands. For example, in a 3G network, a visual orauditory indicator may signal when the electronic device 102 isoperating on a 3G millimeter wave cell. In another example, when a useris near a 5G NR cell that is available via the roaming plan, a map maybe displayed via the display 372 showing the user the location of the NRcell along with the user's location. That way, the user may decidewhether to travel to the NR cell should it provide a desirableperformance or cost benefit. Similarly, the module may includeinstructions to persuade a user to move from one network to another whendevice capabilities and roaming agreements permit. For example,processor-executable instructions may present a benefit (i.e., billingreduction, minutes boost, data availability boost, etc.) to switchbetween available networks that meet the subscriber's devicecapabilities based on bandwidth availability (e.g., from alow-bandwidth-available 5G network to a high-bandwidth-available 3Gnetwork when conditions permit).

A location unit 376 may include a GPS receiver but may also rely on celltower triangulation, Wi-Fi positioning (WPS), or other locationtechniques. Unlike the currently disclosed system, Wi-Fi positioning mayrequire a mobile device to constantly monitor for Wi-Fi SSID and MACaddresses and use those with an external database to infer the locationof the device from the location the Wi-Fi access point.

The electronic device 102 may have at least two radio units. A firstradio 380 may operate at a frequency band corresponding to the homenetwork base station 104. In the 5G example, this may be a millimeterwave radio operating in a range around 50 GHz. A second radio 382 mayoperate at a lower frequency, for example, in a more conventional 4Gfrequency band such as around 700 MHz up to around 2700 MHz. Of course,other radios may also be present, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, ormore.

The illustrated examples above are simplified for convenience and easeof understanding. It should be understood that more complex arrangementsof wide area and small area coverages are likely, including multiplehigh frequency cells with relatively small coverage areas in onecoverage area or small area coverages overlapping large coverage areaboundaries.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 of operating a system 100 to steerelectronic devices 102 during roaming to foreign networks based ondevice type and capability to preserve bandwidth on high-trafficnetworks. Each step of the method 400 is one or more computer-executableinstructions (e.g., modules, blocks, stand-alone instructions, etc.)performed on a processor of a server or other computing device (e.g.,base station, electronic device, other computer system illustrated inFIG. 1 and/or described herein) which may be physically configured toexecute the different aspects of the method. Each step may includeexecution of any of the instructions as described in relation to thesystem 100 as part of the device-type-based-steering systems and methodsdescribed herein or other component that is internal or external to thesystem 100. While the below blocks are presented as an ordered set, thevarious steps described may be executed in any particular order tocomplete the methods described herein.

At block 402, the method 400 may send or receive an attach request fromthe electronic device to a base station (e.g., 110, 116). The attachrequest may include parameters to allow the method 400 to identify thetype of device that sent the attach request.

At block 404, the method 400 may determine a home network MME 130 orother home network information for the electronic device 102 based onthe received attach request. Home network information may include an MNOname or other identification of the home network MNO corresponding tothe electronic device.

At block 406, the method 400 may determine parameters for the electronicdevice 102 based on the received attached request. For example, thefirst foreign network MME 130A and the second foreign network MME 1306may derive a device type, an address for the home network MME 130, andalso to send an identification request to the home network MME 130 fromthe attach request.

At block 408, the method 400 may determine if the electronic device 102is known or unknown to the first foreign network MME 130A and/or thesecond foreign network MME 1306 (i.e., the HLR or VLR of the first orsecond foreign network MME does not include an international mobilesubscriber identity (IMSI) and/or international mobile equipmentidentity (IMEI) or other identification for the electronic device 102).If the device 102 is unknown, then the method may proceed to block 410.

At block 410, the method 400 may send an identity request to a homenetwork of the electronic device 102 and, at block 412, receive anidentity response to the identity request (e.g., an international mobilesubscriber identity (IMSI) and/or international mobile equipmentidentity (IMEI)) to the MMEs 130A, 1306. In some embodiments, theelectronic device 102 may send the identity response to the foreign MMEs130A, 1306 in response to the identity request from the MME to theelectronic device 102.

At block 408, if the electronic device 102 is known (i.e., the HLR orVLR of the first or second foreign network MME includes an internationalmobile subscriber identity (IMSI) and/or international mobile equipmentidentity (IMEI) or other identification for the electronic device 102),then the method may proceed to block 414.

At block 414, the method 400 may determine if the home network MNO has aroaming agreement with the first foreign network MNO and/or the secondforeign network MNO. In some embodiments, the method 400 may use an IMSIof the electronic device 102 to identify the subscriber for theelectronic device 102. If no roaming agreement exists with either thefirst foreign network MNO or the second foreign network MNO, then themethod may proceed to block 416 and cause the electronic device 102 toindicate that connectivity to the networks is not possible or otherindication of a loss of connectivity. If a roaming agreement exists, themethod may proceed to block 418.

At block 418, the method 400 may determine if the capabilities of theelectronic device 102 match one or more of the first foreign networkbase station 110 and/or the second foreign network base station 116. Forexample, the method may identify the electronic device 102 that isroaming away from its home network as a 2G or 3G device, as an IoTdevice, as a VoLTE device, or other type of network access and devicecapabilities. Block 418 may use rules of the roaming modules 120, 120A,120B to steer the electronic device 102 to the foreign base station 110,116 that includes network capabilities that match a roaming agreementbetween the home network MNO and one or more of the foreign networkMNOs.

Also, if the electronic device 102 is an IoT device and the firstforeign network roaming module 120A indicates an agreement between thehome network MNO and the first foreign network MNO to allow IoT devicesto join the first foreign network base station 110, while the secondforeign network roaming module 120B does not indicate such an agreement,then, at block 420, the method may steer the device 102 to join thefirst foreign network. Likewise, if the electronic device 102 is only 3Gcapable and the first foreign network roaming module 120A indicates anagreement between the home network MNO and the first foreign network MNOto not allow a 3G-only device to join a VoLTE-capable first foreignnetwork base station 110, then, at block 420, the method 400 may steerthe device 102 to join the second foreign network or another foreignnetwork. In this manner, the method 400 may preserve bandwidth fornetworks and manage roaming more effectively.

Additionally, certain embodiments are described herein as includinglogic or a number of components, modules, blocks, or mechanisms. Modulesand method blocks may constitute either software modules (e.g., code orinstructions embodied on a machine-readable medium or in a transmissionsignal, wherein the code is executed by a processor) or hardwaremodules. A hardware module is tangible unit capable of performingcertain operations and may be configured or arranged in a certainmanner. In example embodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., astandalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardwaremodules of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a group ofprocessors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application orapplication portion) as a hardware module that operates to performcertain operations as described herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within a processoror other programmable processor) that is temporarily configured bysoftware to perform certain operations. It will be appreciated that thedecision to implement a hardware module mechanically, in dedicated andpermanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry(e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. As used herein,“hardware-implemented module” refers to a hardware module. Consideringembodiments in which hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g.,programmed), each of the hardware modules need not be configured orinstantiated at any one instance in time. For example, where thehardware modules comprise a processor configured using software, theprocessor may be configured as respective different hardware modules atdifferent times. Software may accordingly configure a processor, forexample, to constitute a particular hardware module at one instance oftime and to constitute a different hardware module at a differentinstance of time.

Hardware modules can provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at leastpartially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of theoperations of a method may be performed by one or processors orprocessor-implemented hardware modules. The performance of certain ofthe operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment or as a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The one or more processors may also operate to support performance ofthe relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a“software as a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of theoperations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples ofmachines including processors), these operations being accessible via anetwork (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces(e.g., application program interfaces (APIs).)

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine,but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments,the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modulesmay be distributed across a number of geographic locations.

Some portions of this specification are presented in terms of algorithmsor symbolic representations of operations on data stored as bits orbinary digital signals within a machine memory (e.g., a computermemory). These algorithms or symbolic representations are examples oftechniques used by those of ordinary skill in the data processing artsto convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Asused herein, an “algorithm” is a self-consistent sequence of operationsor similar processing leading to a desired result. In this context,algorithms and operations involve physical manipulation of physicalquantities. Typically, but not necessarily, such quantities may take theform of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of beingstored, accessed, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwisemanipulated by a machine. It is convenient at times, principally forreasons of common usage, to refer to such signals using words such as“data,” “content,” “bits,” “values,” “elements,” “symbols,”“characters,” “terms,” “numbers,” “numerals,” or the like. These words,however, are merely convenient labels and are to be associated withappropriate physical quantities.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “some embodiments” or “an embodiment” or“teaching” means that a particular element, feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in someembodiments” or “teachings” in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. For example, some embodimentsmay be described using the term “coupled” to indicate that two or moreelements are in direct physical or electrical contact. The term“coupled,” however, may also mean that two or more elements are not indirect contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interactwith each other. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Further, the figures depict preferred embodiments for purposes ofillustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize fromthe following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structuresand methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing fromthe principles described herein

Upon reading this disclosure, those of skill in the art will appreciatestill additional alternative structural and functional designs for thesystems and methods described herein through the disclosed principlesherein. Thus, while particular embodiments and applications have beenillustrated and described, it is to be understood that the disclosedembodiments are not limited to the precise construction and componentsdisclosed herein. Various modifications, changes and variations, whichwill be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made in thearrangement, operation and details of the systems and methods disclosedherein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in anyappended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for steering an electronic deviceto a foreign network during roaming based on capabilities of theelectronic device, the system comprising: a mobile management entity(MME) including a processor and a memory storing instructions forexecution by the processor for: storing roaming agreement rules for theelectronic device, the roaming agreement rules indicating a networkcapability for the electronic device to join either a first foreignnetwork base station or a second foreign network base station; receivinga first request from the first foreign network base station and a secondrequest from the second foreign network base station for the electronicdevice; and sending data to the first foreign network base station inresponse to the first request and to the second foreign network basestation in response to the second request, the data indicating a networkcapability of the electronic device; wherein one of the first foreignnetwork base station or the second foreign network base station issuescredentials to the electronic device for joining the first foreignnetwork base station or the second foreign network base station,respectively, based on the roaming agreement rules.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising a home network base station corresponding toa home mobile network operator (MNO), the home network base stationincluding a home network memory storing data to define a home coveragearea.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the electronic device is outsidethe home coverage area but within a first foreign coverage area and asecond foreign coverage area and the electronic device is capable ofjoining both the first and second foreign network base stations.
 4. Thesystem of claim 3, wherein the first foreign network base stationcorresponds to a first foreign MNO and the second foreign network basestation corresponds to a second foreign MNO.
 5. The system of claim 4,wherein the roaming agreement rules indicate network capabilities forthe electronic device corresponding to the home MNO to join the firstforeign network base station corresponding to a first foreign MNO andthe second foreign network base station corresponding to a secondforeign MNO.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first request and thesecond request include one or more of an attach request, anidentification request, an identity request, an update location request,and a modify bearer request.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein thenetwork capability of the electronic device, the home network basestation, the first foreign network base station, and the second foreignnetwork base station include one or more of GSM, IS-95, UMTS, CDMA2000,LTE, and 5G.
 8. The system of, claim 2, including further instructionsfor execution by the home network processor for storing a home locationregister (HLR) including data corresponding to a plurality ofsubscribers to the home, network MNO, the data comprising at least anidentity and an electronic device network capability for eachsubscriber, wherein the first request and the second request includes anupdate location request.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the data sentto the first foreign network base station in response to the firstrequest and to the second foreign network base station in response tothe second request includes an entry from the HLR corresponding to theelectronic device.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the networkcapability of the electronic device matches one or more of the firstforeign network base station and the second foreign network basestation.
 11. A computer-implemented method for steering an electronicdevice to a foreign network during roaming based on capabilities of theelectronic device, the method comprising: storing, using a processor,roaming agreement rules for the electronic device, the roaming agreementrules indicating a network capability for the electronic device to joineither a first foreign network base station or a second foreign networkbase station; receiving, using the processor, a first request and asecond request for the electronic device; and sending data to the firstforeign network base station in response to the first request and to thesecond foreign network base station in response to the second request,the data indicating a network capability of the electronic device;wherein one of the first foreign network base station or the secondforeign network base station issues credentials to the electronic devicefor joining the first foreign network base station or the second foreignnetwork base station, respectively, based on the roaming agreementrules.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising storing data todefine a home coverage area, wherein the electronic device is outsidethe home coverage area but within a first foreign coverage area and asecond foreign coverage area and the electronic device is capable ofjoining both the first and second foreign network base stations.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the first foreign network base stationcorresponds to a first foreign MNO and the second foreign network basestation corresponds to a second foreign MNO.
 14. The method of claim 13,wherein the roaming agreement rules indicate network capabilities forthe electronic device corresponding to the home MNO to join the firstforeign network base station corresponding to a first foreign MNO andthe second foreign network base station corresponding to a secondforeign MNO.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the first request andthe second request include one or more of an attach request, anidentification request, an identity request, an update location request,and a modify bearer request.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein theroaming agreement rules include the home MNO, the first foreign MNO, andthe second foreign MNO.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the networkcapability of the electronic device, the home network base station, thefirst foreign network base station, and the second foreign network basestation includes one or more of GSM, IS-95, UMTS, CDMA2000, LTE, and 5G.18. The method of claim 11, further comprising storing a home locationregister (HLR) including data corresponding to a plurality ofsubscribers to the home network MNO, the data comprising at least anidentity and an electronic device network capability for eachsubscriber, wherein the first request and the second request includes anupdate location request.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the datasent to the first foreign network base station in response to the firstrequest and to the second foreign network base station in response tothe second request includes an entry from the HLR corresponding to theelectronic device.
 20. The method of claim 11, wherein the networkcapability of the electronic device matches one or more of the firstforeign network base station and the second foreign network basestation.